Scrapbooking

Cheryl and I scheduled a scrapbooking day at the beginning of the summer. Today was the day! I had my new scrapbook room all ready for the two of us to work. She worked mostly on her computer (until she started working on my computer and, thankfully, got it to print again!) while I worked in Maelle's preschool book. I'm not really quite that far behind. I'm filling in the unfinished pages in a mostly finished book. I forgot to get a picture while Cheryl was here, so I just took this one. Imagine two people in this room happily scrapping and chatting the day away. 

Moving Pigs

Chris spent the morning getting ready to move some pigs around. I helped him with the actual move. We put the piglets (now quite big) into a crate and loaded them onto the trailer of the mower. They were moved from the bee barn to up front with the other pigs on pasture. They got their own new pen. We moved the other piglets to a different pasture as well, one with lush green grass and clover. We put our lonely bore, Roscoe, with them in hopes that he will perk up a little. Boss, Missy, and Audrey also got moved to fresh grass today. The turkeys were also moved over in the barn and will be ready to be let outside in a couple of weeks. Another busy day on the farm. 

Date Night

After church, we dropped the kids off at their friends Drew and Gabi's for a sleepover. Then we went out to eat at Evan's Street Station, thanks to a gift certificate we had. I didn't get any pictures there, but after we got home we sat on the porch watching the sunset. It's nice to have this time to spend with Chris. 

Art Shows

Benny and Maelle both had camps this week. Benny's was about Creating Comic Books and Maelle's was Art Camp. Both camps culminated today with an invitation for family members to come and view the work the artists had created. We went and watched as Benny and his small group presented their comic, "The Lost Sneakers." Later we went to Maelle's art show and retrieved all of her wonderful creations. While we weren't driving to and from Adrian to attend these events, Chris worked diligently on the engine in his truck, which I'm happy to say, seems to be running smoothly once more. 

Daybed

Maelle's room is finished, and it turned out great! The daybed we ordered arrived yesterday and Chris put it together. I think Maelle is really happy to have more room in her room. She had a friend over this evening and they played in there for a while. Another project we can check off the list! ✔️

Ashdown Acres Sign

The name of our farm is an obscure reference to Winnie the Pooh. The Ashdown Acre Woods is where the Hundred Acre Wood is located in the treasured A. A. Milne stories. Winnie the Pooh has always been especially significant in our relationship, given the fact that he's Christopher and I'm Robyn. We came upon the name Ashdown Acres Family Farm not long after moving in. Now, I'm happy to say, our official name adorns the entrance to our little farm. Thanks again to everyone who helped get it up there. It is beautiful, and so special to us. 

Bedtime

Winston likes to come upstairs with us when we put the kids to bed. Tonight was no exception. While I sing to Maelle, Winston usually stays in Benny's room (because Maelle doesn't let him on her bed).  When I came back to get him, Benny had him all wrapped up in his blanket. They looked so cozy and cute together. 

American Girls

Maelle's room has gotten a lot of our attention the last few days. Today we went and picked out a new sheet and comforter set. I'm going to wait to post a picture of it until her new day bed arrives later in the week. We cleaned out lots of old stuff from her room and made room for her American Girl furniture. She got the closet for her birthday and the bed from my mom. Last week she got the dresser from Aunt Jean. She loves it! Everything fits perfectly and looks great. Maelle is now able to really enjoy her dolls. 

Stargazer Lilies

Our gardens are atrocious this year. They are overrun with weeds, mostly thistle, which are not easy to remove. I weeded this bed about a month ago and the weeds just keep on coming. (I should probably get out there and weed again, huh?) anyway, I noticed this beautiful lily a few days ago. It is a nice sight to see something that is actually beautiful in the garden. One of my summer goals is to get these gardens looking nice before school starts. Wish me luck. 

Switch-a-roo

Today we pulled off a huge switch-a-roo. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning yesterday with the idea. I presented it to Maelle and then to Chris. Maelle's room is small. Her bed is big! It was converted from her crib, to a toddler bed, and now it's a full size bed. The other problem in her room is that there is only one vent and it was, unfortunately, right under her bed. Her room is always cold in the winter and hot in the summer because it faces due west and sits atop the front porch. Anyway, I asked her what she thought about putting her bed in the basement guest room for a while and bringing up the twin bed to make her room a lot bigger. She was all for it. After some debate, we all agreed that we should get a day bed frame. We are also going to let her pick out a new sheet set. When we got everything moved and her room cleaned up, she was thrilled. Surprise, Michayla! We hope you're happy too! 

Hay

Today was the day that the nice farmer who cut our back field baled the hay. That meant that we had to get them put up into the hay loft in case it rains tonight, which it might. We were on a roll, having gotten about 2/3 of the bales up the old hay elevator (which I aptly named "The Beast" after my favorite roller coaster at Kings Island). After that, she refused to raise any more hay. The motor is going to need some work before she will be running again. We put the last few bales into the barn around 9:00 and called it a night. It was hard work, but good work. Chris and I are both going to feel it in the morning. 

Floppy Disk

Cleaning the basement closet today, I came across this little gem, along with some of those smaller 3 inch disks. I'm sure there is a computer somewhere that could run them, but I'm not sure there would be anything worth retrieving. I'm sure it must be from high school. Maybe even before that. I think I'm just going to throw them all away. 

Fairy Garden

It was a pretty productive day. Although it was unbelievably hot, I worked outside quite a bit. I pulled and cut some weeds, built my wax melter and the sun melted about half of the wax cappings from the honey I extracted a few weeks ago. I can finally get all the buckets and tubs out of the laundry room. I also watered the new grass seed. Maelle and I also worked on updating her fairy garden. I had bought a few new plants at the botanical gardens when I was there for bee class. We have one more fairy garden to set up. We just have to remember to keep them watered  every day or they'll never survive this heat! 

Ohio Finale

We are home! It was a great day spent with friends and family. We spent the night at Jessie's house. The kids slept in the camper. In the morning we went creeking. The girls enjoyed some swimming (fully clothed) in the creek. We went back to their house for lunch and some more play time. Benny and Miles had fun with water balloon bow and arrows. Later in the afternoon we went over to my mom and dad's and hung out with more cousins, Zac and Lilly. I also got to visit with Joe and Marilynn for a while. We had a delicious supper of Gramps's famous burgers and corn on the cob. We left at 6:00 and got home at exactly 9:00. Not bad! We were all so happy to see Chris and Winston. It was a great three days, but it's nice to be home. 

Ohio, continued

Our whirlwind Ohio adventure continued today with boating and tubing on Uncle Mike's boat this morning followed by a three hour drive to Dayton. We did a short visit with my mom and dad before heading over to spend the evening with my dear friend Jessie and her kids. We walked to the pool where we had supper and the kids swam and played. I enjoyed every second catching up with one of my favorite people in the world. We will hang out with them tomorrow before heading back to spend some quality time with my mom and dad.

Ohio Trip

We decided to take a quick trip to Ohio. Today we drove to Jayne's in Medina. We were able to visit with her family, my mom and dad and Aunt Jo, as well as Cheryl and her family. I even got to see my cousin Liz! The kids swam in the pool, and Maelle and I went to Art in the Park for a little while. Tomorrow we head down to Dayton for a couple days. 

Lego City

Over the course of the week, Benny and his friend have built a Lego City in his bedroom. Every time I go in there it seems that more things have been added. Today when I went in his room for something, I noticed all of these Lego guys (that is a technical term, I believe) lined up at the rim of the city ready to defend, or possibly attack. I don't know for sure. The boys have certainly been very creative. 

Drama Camp

Maelle spent her days at Drama Camp this week. She loved every minute of it. She was so excited all week for the performance tonight. She found out on Tuesday that she had been cast as Zazu from The Lion King. She did a great job. The whole show was wonderful! I hope she will continue to be part of the theatre. So much fun!

Leftover Lamb

I made lamb and potatoes in the Instant Pot tonight. This is the third night in a row that I have used it to make supper. The lamb had good flavor, but was a bit overdone. Next time I will cook it for a shorter time. You can always put it back in if it's not quite done. What did turn out great (besides the potatoes) was the gravy I made right in the Instant Pot. It was delicious. We even have enough lamb, potatoes, and gravy leftover for lunch tomorrow! 

Haircut

I finally got my haircut today. The last time I got it cut was right before we went to Florida last July, so nearly a year! I was really ready to get it trimmed up. I wanted to keep most of the length, though. I am really happy with it, and looking forward to being able to get a comb all the way through it after my shower tomorrow. 

Tractor

Today was an exciting day for our farm! Chris found a tractor on Craig's list and we went and looked at it yesterday. We decided it was just right. We went and bought it today. It is a Ford 8n. The guy that sold it to us did a nice job fixing it up. It runs really well. He also sold us a brush hog for it, which is why we wanted to get it in the first place. We want to make sure we are keeping our pastures as healthy as possible for the pigs. I think Chris is really happy. I'm sure he will be out there brush hogging this weekend. 

Honey

We extracted honey last week and I bottled it over the weekend. Today I printed labels, so it's ready to go off to its new homes. We are thinking of getting a table at the Adrian Farmers Market this weekend if I can get everything organized to do so. 

Maelle and Winnie

Yesterday while I was mowing, I noticed Maelle playing with Winston. She was throwing the ball for him and he was bringing it back, reluctantly giving it up so she could throw it again. They didn't know I was watching. It was sweet to watch these moments between the two of them. 

Salad Cutter

I just got this salad cutter yesterday and have used it twice already. It really does make cutting salads a lot faster. Well maybe not a LOT faster, but certainly more fun. Today's salad had dill and some micro greens. So yummy! We'll be eating salad all the time! 

Friends

Benny became good friends with a kid at school this year. He hadn't seen him since school got out, so we invited him over today. His parents are going to pick him up tomorrow morning. They have had fun outside and inside playing video games. Earlier we took a trip to the comic book store. They both seem to be having a good time.   

Cousins

The kids had doctors appointments today, so we drove to Ann Arbor. We were planning on meeting Cheryl and Bella for lunch but had some time to spare, so we went to Meijer. We ran into Lindsey and Nathan! It was so great to see them! After that we had lunch at Noodles and Company with Cheryl and Bella. Then we went to the library. I did some more cleaning and sorting in the basement and we moved Michayla's bed and bookshelf into the guest room. I may actually have it all done before she gets here. Maybe!

Happy Winsta-versary!

One year ago we went to the Humane Society in hopes of meeting "Winston," the dog we had seen on their website. At first we thought he wasn't there. Thankfully, we asked, and they took us to the other room where the "big dogs" were in kennels. We knew pretty quickly that he was going to be our boy. We brought him home and have enjoyed having this sweet boy in our family. We all love him so much. Today he got to go to the vet for a check up and a couple shots. We are looking forward to many more years with our Winston. 

July Fourth

Today was a typical day, although it felt more like a Saturday than a Tuesday. I spent five hours extracting honey while Chris worked in the garden. Thankfully Maelle helped me for most of that time. It was very fun spending the afternoon with her in the bee barn. Benny also helped me clean up and get everything back to the house. He drove the mower by himself for the first time. After a delicious supper of grilled chicken, we went out for ice cream. Not a bad way to celebrate our freedom!

Turkey Poults

We got the newest members of our livestock crew today, six turkey poults. One of them will be our Thanksgiving dinner. Chris also installed the automatic chicken door today. No more staying up late just to put the chickens to bed! We also worked in the bee yard today. Most hives are looking really good! I also painted our new farm sign so we can hang it up soon. Maybe we'll relax a little bit tomorrow. 

Zoo

We spent the afternoon at the Toledo Zoo. We didn't get to see everything, and we plan on going back. We had not been to the new aquarium. My favorite animals were the eagles and ring tail lemurs. The kids and Chris are partial to the polar bears. Surprisingly, Chris also liked the reptile house. When we got home we made pork Carnitas in the Instant Pot. It was delicious, and only took 90 minutes. 

The First of July

We spent the afternoon and evening with Dave and Rebecca out at Wampler's Lake. We had a really nice time visiting with them, and the kids had a great time playing together. Some of their neighbors put on an unbelievable fireworks show. It lasted for 45 minutes. It was as good as, if not better than, a professional show. It was the perfect way to end this First of July celebration!